COMMUNIQUE OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH CONCERNING A MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENCY OF THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS IN THE USA

Today the Superiors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith met with the Presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in the United States of America. Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle and the Holy See’s Delegate for the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR, also participated in the meeting.

As this was his first opportunity to meet with the Presidency of the LCWR, the Prefect of the Congregation, Most Rev. Gerhard Ludwig Müller, expressed his gratitude for the great contribution of women Religious to the Church in the United States as seen particularly in the many schools, hospitals, and institutions of support for the poor which have been founded and staffed by Religious over the years.

The Prefect then highlighted the teaching of the Second Vatican Council regarding the important mission of Religious to promote a vision of ecclesial communion founded on faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church as faithfully taught through the ages under the guidance of the Magisterium (Cf. Lumen gentium, nn. 43-47). He also emphasized that a Conference of Major Superiors, such as the LCWR, exists in order to promote common efforts among its member Institutes as well as cooperation with the local Conference of Bishops and with individual Bishops. For this reason, such Conferences are constituted by and remain under the direction of the Holy See (Cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 708-709).

Finally, Archbishop Müller informed the Presidency that he had recently discussed the Doctrinal Assessment with Pope Francis, [FRANCIS!] who reaffirmed the findings of the Assessment and the program of reform for this Conference of Major Superiors.

It is the sincere desire of the Holy See that this meeting may help to promote the integral witness of women Religious, based on a firm foundation of faith and Christian love, so as to preserve and strengthen it for the enrichment of the Church and society for generations to come.

This is big news.

And now we will watch to see how the sisters and their supporters react.

The beauty of this is that the reminders have been given purely in the context of Vatican II declarations, and I would suppose that many of these women believe they are doing what the Council decreed. Wake up call, perhaps the last.

A genuine ‘thank God’ for that. It is a sure signal of the rightness of the assertion that Pope Francis is NOT the herald of some brave new world (in spite of some wishful thinking from liberals), but a true and humble successor of St Peter, speaking in concert with his immediate predecessors.

In other news:
Yesterday, the local Carmel had the clothing of another new member. Their numbers have doubled, from nine to nineteen in the last two or three years.
One of our former parishioners will be entering a Carmel in Nebraska soon.
On Low Sunday, several sister from the local house of the Missionaries of Charity were our guests at Mass.
This weekend, four sister of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (the Still River ones) were here for the second year to put on two day camps: one for families on Friday, one for girls only on Saturday. They had goodies for sale and I got their denim apron I’ve been “admiring” (coveting) on two of our Altar Guild team. And the tote bag.

Does this letter refer to a meeting that just happened (a ‘new’ meeting), or the well-publicized meeting that took place many months ago? It seems like old news. First, we don’t even have the response of the LCWR yet. I don’t think retrogressive forces will have much luck using a letter like this as a wedge between women religious and the new pope.

“Open and frank” sounds like it might be diplomatic speak for not very friendly. On the other hand, it’s not very surprising that the new pope would show continuity by affirming a recent assessment; we’ll have to wait and see whether there is a change in tone and some kind of tangible progress towards resoving the situation.

Fr. Jim,
It must be recent because of the statement “Finally, Archbishop Müller informed the Presidency that he had recently discussed the Doctrinal Assessment with Pope Francis, who reaffirmed the findings of the Assessment and the program of reform for this Conference of Major Superiors.”
Many people were celebrating their false belief that Because PBXVI was no longer Pope, the LCWR reform would be dropped. Thanks be to God (and thank you to Pope Francis!), this MUCH needed medicinal remedy will be continued…let us pray that the disease isn’t too far gone to be cured (though I personally feel that the patient is near death and will require miraculous intervention to survive). Let us pray, also, for those who have been infected by the dreadful disease spread by the LCWR. May we all come to the good health of orthodoxy & orthopraxy!

1. Pope Is Catholic.
2. LCWR expresses surprise and dismay but couches it in nuanced diplomatese.
3. Fishwrap to parse statement to somehow make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse.
4. Aging sisters faint with the vapors, and vow to make more papier-mache’ large puppets and preach social justice while wandering through their labrynth chanting paens to gaia.

I just looked at the LCWR’s statement Frank H linked to above. While at the website to glanced at the publications offered by the LCWR and became suspicious of their Systems Thinking Handbook, offered here:https://lcwr.org/resources/systems-thinking-handboo

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our new Pope, himself a religious, could start cleaning up the heresy rampant in various religious orders since Vat. II? JPII had no luck in trying to reform the Jesuits, but maybe one of their own could do it?

As for Fr. Jim and the notion of “driving a wedge” between these heretical nuns and Pope, I think he should apologize for the slander to the Pope, as I am sure our Pope has not “moved beyond” Jesus and the Church as these dissenting nuns have, nor has he promoted the acceptability of abortion and same sex activity as they have, nor has he embraced new age, labyrinths, conscious evolution, chakras and whatever else they are pushing.

Does this letter refer to a meeting that just happened (a ‘new’ meeting), or the well-publicized meeting that took place many months ago? It seems like old news. First, we don’t even have the response of the LCWR yet. I don’t think retrogressive forces will have much luck using a letter like this as a wedge between women religious and the new pope.

Retrogressive forces? Interesting choice of words for someone who insists he’s a moderate.

Let’s pray that they turn towards the Holy Father, and not on him. Nothing could be a happier outcome, and many religious sisters would welcome it. Besides, orders that do not welcome this correction (and we all need correction, from time to time) are going to die out, because modern women who do not want to marry do not have to join religious communities in order to become school teachers or nurses or social workers. Look at how many religious communities for women the Protestants have! No one wants to make a vow to a NGO. The communities who take the corrections of the CDF to heart may well survive into the next century precisely because they did.

Robtbrown: all part of the ‘newspeak’ that the loony left uses to try to reset the ‘middle of the road’ (ie moderate) to their side.

All part of the language dialectic taken straight from Alinsky, Marx, etc. All birds of the same feather. While people like that’s blind adherence to liberal thought (whilst saying all along that they are actually moderate…see my first line…) is annoying, and I pray for those stuck in their care, those of this ilk are in retrograde as the forces of history leave them behind.

But, hey, we all need reminders of how deeply some inhaled in the 60s and 70s….LOL.

Fr. Z said “[Pope Francis did not have to approve this. He did approve it.]”

That’s absolutely true, and I don’t think that there’s any way to make a case that this statement is good news for the LCWR. Nobody’s going to like every decision the pope makes, and liberals won’t like this one.

I don’t think liberals should despair over it, though. Having affirmed the assessment, and shown continuity with the pope emeritus, will Pope Francis now see to it that the reform is accomplished in a more mutually agreeable way? That’s what we’ll have to wait and see.

The great wedge between LCWR and the new pope is not a letter, nor is it their dependence on the Church. The underbelly seems to be their new found dependence, which is not the independence which they claim. When George Soros, Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, the Rockefeller foundation, the Ford foundation and finally, the federal government provide a bus and gas it up quite well, one has a duty to question exactly who they are “dialoguing” with. You cannot serve two masters, you will hate one and love the other. The matter is quite simple, Jesus Christ and His Church, or the well-funded bus beyond Jesus.

EXACTLY! I said things like this for years and all it did was get me in trouble! I always said, “Jesus Christ is worth your life, mother earth is not!” and “nobody signed on to be a celibate social worker!”

majuscule & eiggam
It’s true that the book cannot be accessed at the first link, but if you or anyone still wants to look at it, they can click the second link. It contains a link which still accesses the book.

I think a lot of people are happy and relieved. I certainly am. It’s cute to see all of the “The Pope is Catholic” talk going on and I certainly join in everyone’s rejoicing, but I think it all shows how worried we conservatives have been over the last few weeks. We really have been living purely on faith, haven’t we?

frjim, I think it is rather silly to refer to “retrogressive forces” when all that has been required of the LCWR is that the return to communion with Rome. Especially as what is required is that they recall (and honor) their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Love the headline on Yahoo News:
“Pope Francis supports crackdown on US nuns”

This is probably the first time the words “Pope Francis” and “crackdown” have been used in the same sentence. Meanwhile, over at Rorate, the tenor seems to be that the LCWR is getting off easy and receiving more lenient treatment that, say, the SSPX (although the latter group is not mentioned by name).

Clearly, the need for reform of the LCWR (aka the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pantsuit) and its member congregations is beyond cavil. Are these women are so lost that they fail to see that their approach to ” living the Gospel message” has resulted in an aging membership and vocations that have declined to almost nil? In the secular world, anyone selling what they are marketing and finding so few takers would re-examine their approach. Not these gals, which to me indicates that they will continue to dig in their heels (sorry for the pun). The dysfunction in the LCWR member congregations is apparent in my own parish, where a large convent once housing 30+ sisters stands empty, the sisters long ago having abandoned teaching in the parish school. The few remaining aging sisters were called home to the motherhouse a decade ago. In the meantime, more than a dozen women religious from various LCWR member communities live within the territory of the parish, in apartments of 2 or 3, working in secular jobs to support themselves and remit income to the order. But according to the LCWR, everything is fine, move along, nothing to see here….

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis has reaffirmed the Vatican’s criticism of a body that represents U.S. nuns which the Church said was tainted by “radical” feminism, dashing hopes he might take a softer stand with the sisters.

“(Reuters) – Pope Francis has reaffirmed the Vatican’s criticism of a body that represents U.S. nuns…”

This “news” organisation can’t even get the basics right – as has been pointed out many times, that body by no means represents all US nuns. Still, of course, that quote fits right in with their lefty kneejerk worldview, so why let those irritating little fact-thingies get in the way?

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“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z

YOUR RECENT COMMENTS

monstrance: Perhaps the Holy Father’s recent experience with the Chilean sex abuse scandal served as a bucket of cold water. The “Who am I to judge “ stance received a severe dose of reality.

Cafea Fruor: I forget things all the time, and not from nerves. I just forget, even if I just prepared myself right before going in. The only solution I’ve found is to write everything down...

Amerikaner: In practice the decisions are made by the Rectors 230; and pertinent info may not therefore be passed on to a bishop before ordination .

Ave Maria: One time it is “Who am I to judge̶ 1; or recently “God made you gay” (paraphras e?) and there was the welcoming of a homosexual couple at the Vatican and also a...

dbf223: Why is a Cardinal of the Church giving anyone investment advice? I know this is Honduras and not, say, Switzerlan d, but if you’ re the widow of a former high level government offic...

millercr2: I travel 115K+ miles per year on United Airlines and while I don’ t record tail numbers, I was told by an industry insider to glance at the serial number that can be found inside...

dbf223: Correction – Damon Linker isn’ t an Italian journalist . I suppose I’m simply used to seeing this type of work come out of the Italian press.

dbf223: I think that this analysis, and some of the comments, are missing something important: the Church of the future isn’ t going to be determined by anything any Pope can do from Rome....

Kevin: And I just found an article by Archbishop Chaput on First Things. https://ww w.firstthi ngs.com/we b-exclusiv es/2018/05 /what-happ ens-in-ger many

Marc in Eugene: ‘If you have the slightest doubt̵ 7;. Well, are there prelates who are programmat ically going to avoid having any doubts at all about prospectiv e homosexual candidates ?...

Malta: It seems he contradict s himself to some degree on the issue of homosexual ity (cf: http://the week.com/a rticles/77 4517/pope- francis-cu nning-long -game) But I think this is a good...

Kevin: My issue with the various Bishop Conference s is we will have the Germans allowing Communion for protestant spouses 230;we have the Bishops from Malta allowing communion for irregu...

TonyO: We Jesuits always have to remember that most Catholics are not Jesuits — a fact we tend to overlook sometimes. Our spirituali ty is not for everyone — perhaps hard to say, but so true. Oh,...

Grant M: Ah those intransige nt trads. Unwilling to exchange the seasons of Epiphany, Septuagesi ma and Pentecost for the poetry of Ordinary Time, A, B and C. Still maybe Pope Paul had a Cunning...

rcg: Of course this a good thing. But it is going to be the focus of state sponsored attacks on the Church and will probably, and unfortunat ely, be quite effective.

Julia_Augusta: Is that the ReaderR 17;s Guide to Augustine& #8217;s City of God by Gerard O’Da ly? Is it worth buying if one is going to read City of God? [It is helpful!] US HERE –...

TonyO: Well, with regard to the investment advice, it is a bit hard to lay the accusation of defrauding widows and orphans against Card. Rodriguez Maradiaga, for it was not he who defrauded her,...

JonPatrick: Although many cities have experience d decline, Detroit is somewhat of a special case being dependent on the auto industry. Initially it was very prosperous which attracted immigra...

JonPatrick: Hmm, a downturn in vocations. Would it be worth looking into those places in the Church where vocations are flourishin g and seminaries are bursting at the seams? Like the traditiona l...

Traductora: Francis has already said that he plans to set things up in such a way that they cannot be reversed (in other words, there can be no Summorum Pontificum of the future). He’s also appoi...

roma247: And who should have the answer to our tears of confusion and frustratio n as we watch this painful disintegra tion, but our good Mother in Heaven, Mary? Look at her in the Pieta: she...

dholwell: We constantly pray for vocations, and for our priests and bishops.

teomatteo: My thought on the pope’ ;s vision is pretty simple: he’l l move the Church closer to the Orthodox and the next pope and the next and say in 2065 we can sign a statement of...

TonyO: Pope Francis is 82 next Dec. He doesn’t have time. He himself admits it. That means he has not enough time to change the shape of the electorate ; It may be true – or, more proba...

Charles E Flynn: There is a cable TV show called “Ame rican Greed̶ 1;, narrated by Stacy Keach. I wonder if there is a narrator suitable for “Hon duran Greed̶ 1;.

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